Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens honored a request from his daughter to “give the people what they want” in Friday night’s 114-93 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
As Boston continued to expand the lead in the third quarter, some Celtics fans started chanting “We want Tacko!” — hoping rookie center Tacko Fall would get some playing time late in a blowout.
They got their wish with 4:31 left in the fourth. Fans roared when Fall got up from the bench and removed his warm-ups, and then entered just the second game of his career. He quickly committed a foul — although the fans were certain it was a clean block.
Fans altered the chant to “M-V-P!” when Fall went to the foul line with 52 seconds left and leaped to their feet when he put back an offense rebound with a dunk with 32 seconds to go.
“As the game was closing out, I knew I was getting in for sure,” Fall said. “Then it was just a matter of going out there and having some fun.”
Stevens said after the game that his daughter, Kinsley, told him of Fall, “‘It’s time to give the people what they want.’ And that’s all she said.”
Fall finished his home debut with five points, three more than Celtics star Kemba Walker, who went 0 of 6 from the field.
Fall’s NBA debut came earlier this season in a blowout against the Knicks. Even though the Celtics were on the road, Fall had the New York faithful at Madison Square Garden on their feet as well when he checked in.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.